Affordable Care Act: The why is as important as the what

The reason why the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, was designed is just as important as the what the law does says Sheldon Weisgrau, senior consultant with Rural Health Consultants. Weisgrau recently spoke at the NAACP Annual Freedom Fund according to the Salina Journal.

"A lot of politicians will say, 'We have the best health care system in the world; why change it? We do not have the best health care system in the world. If you compare what we do in health care to other developed countries, it easier to argue we have the worst health care system in the world,” said Weisgrau.

Weisgrau said the ACA is a 906-page law designed to make health care more available and affordable for U.S. residents. He said it is designed to improve the quality and cost of health care, something almost everyone agrees on.

Weisgrau also spoke about why health care reform came about, the poor quality of health care driving increased costs, the expansion of the Medicaid program, and the problems the program has encountered getting off the ground.

"Whether you like this law or hate this law, whether you think President Obama is the greatest president or worst president ever, it doesn't matter," Weisgrau said. "This is the law of the land. It is happening, it is being implemented, we have to understand it."

Weisgrau has been touring the state to talk about what is and isn't in the law. His talks are paid for by Kansas Grantmakers in Health, a group of six health care groups in the state.